Private Tales Let the Lost no longer be lost

[Tadrielus Galawen]

There was much murmuring amongst the avariel. It lasted only a minute, but it felt closer to an hour. Tadrielus kept his expression congenial, but his verdant eyes moved between those present with a sparkle that belied their strategic intent.

There were 28 individuals present... likely more hiding behind the titanic leaves. Of those, only the elders were unarmed. Tadrielus and Caliane had not been stripped of their weapons, which only made it more clear how poor a decision it would be to draw them.

"The council will discuss your offer."

This was all the explanation the pair of them were given, as the woman leading their little party made to direct them back the way they had come.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane bit back a growl of frustration. She had known these missions would be hard and that it would take some time to convince those who had been left to once more join their fold. Become one. But Caliane had other, more pressing concerns, that she wanted to get back to. The shadows that had destroyed Eren'thiel Xyrdithas's world were on the move and if her visions had been correct, the Avariel's would need to take part for there to be any chance of them winning the fight.

Couldn't they just see this was for the best? United. Whole.

She cast a disappointed glance to Tadrielus and then had a thought.

"Would we be able to explore, whilst we wait?" she asked hopefully.

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Tadrielus also wished to explore the great tree, although he did not expect to be allowed to. They were still being treated as threats. Admittedly Caliane was a pyromancer within a city made entirely of wood, but there was no cause for her to hurt these people. If they thought about it, surely these distant relatives would see that the white-winged pair had come in peace.

Apparently one of them had thought about it. One of the less-ancient faces gave their escort a nod and a hand wave, and the soldiers flanking them loosened a bit. The woman leading them put on the hardest face yet, and said in a low, threatening voice: “Main bows only.”

“Thank you,” Tadrielus said to her and towards the group of elders that was no longer paying attention to them. He didn’t know what the main bows were, but he assumed they would be quite quickly corrected should they venture too far.

Back through the tight staircase and out onto a branch again as wide as a street. “Well… where would you like to explore?”

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

If she was being honest with herself, Caliane would not have been surprised to have had the request denied and to be slammed into chains or a small room somewhere. But she certainly wasn't going to look the gift horse in the face. It also confirmed something she had suspected; whilst it looked a peaceful haven this place was patrolled and guarded. Was it with magic or soldiers? Both? She put on her best innocent smile of gratitude when they were left 'alone', which meant the thugs who had been their jailors were pretending not to watch or follow them.

"I'd quite like to find a library," she murmured to her companion, looping her arm through his and pretending to simply be admiring the views. The pair drew interested looks not just because of their shadows, but the lack of colour in their wings, and more than a few of the jungle Avariel nudged one another. "I'd like to find out what happened to these people... and what those... things in the cave were."

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Tadrielus kept his expression jovial as she took his arm on their slow walk. "Yes, that would be illuminating."

There were several doors like the one they had just left on the branch, though many of them seemed to enter into hollows winding down into the branch. It would be difficult for a pair of outsiders to determine where those doors went.

"The cave did seem to be a point of tension for them... understandably. If you ask me, any book on that subject will be under lock and key." His face still smiled, but his eyes no longer twinkled in the dappled light. "I have slain enough demons to know what a pact looks like, and I have met enough foolish mortals to know such temptation is to be jealously guarded."

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

"You think they did this to themselves?" Caliane, far younger than her companion, was not quite so good at keeping the expression of disgust, surprise and horror off her face. She at least had managed to keep her voice low enough only he could hear what they spoke of. She couldn't think of a dire enough circumstance that she would give her soul over to anything so dark and twisted.

"But why? They seem to have thrived here..." so surely it had not been out of desperation. Her stomach knotted at the thought it was something darker like a desire for power or, revenge upon Thyasari.

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Tadrielus maintained their pace, casting his cool eyes across the various impressive structures this society had built. With luck it would seem that they were discussing the tree, and not their captors' secrets.

But why? They seem to have thrived here...

"They do, though I suspect it was not always so. I also suspect that our chromatic friends are descended from those who did not partake in such things. At least I certainly hope so." The thought of an old schism wherein the avariel here shunned the abominations below was far more comforting than the alternative: a secret endorsement of dark rituals in pursuit of power. The sword at his hip remained a warm comfort.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Tadrielus' observations cast a dark shadow over a city Caliane had been eager to explore. Now there was a nagging in her gut to get out. Run. The Elders ideas to re-unite the Avariel's had been an honourable one and their biggest worry had been that the tribes wouldn't return. They hadn't considered that some of those tribes shouldn't return. She swallowed but said nothing more as they meandered almost aimlessly through the branches.

Somehow the Avariel's had created a whole city that fit within the vast appendages of wood. The pair found themselves in what appeared to be a small market area with shops with colourful fronts. The awe was tempered a little with the worries of what dark secrets these people harboured, but Caliane was young and curiosity was her cardinal sin.

"I saw something similar to this in the Falwoods, the elves there sung the trees into bending in the shapes of their homes and shops."

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

"Is that how they did it?" Tadrielus let his eyes wander the colorful tents and rugs. "They told me the forest creatures had built it for them, but I always suspected they were having a go at me." It was not entirely clear if Tadrielus was being serious, but he drew the pair of them to a table bedecked in what seemed to be wooden jewelry.

"These are fine crafts." The olive-skinned avariel behind the table nodded, though seemed uncertain of whether or not they should reply. "I should like this one, but ah - I am afraid I don't know what you would like in exchange." Tadrielus had pointed to a bracelet of dark, polished wood with the image of a crane on it, silhouetted in flight. The artisan, or at least vendor, looked up with golden eyes and just said "Coin will do."

A brief discussion later Tadrielus found himself with a fine accent piece, and a navy-winged avariel had some foreign silver to enjoy. Hopefully the friendly exchange would be noted by the others and lower some barriers.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Whilst Tad shopped, Caliane used the opportunity to take in the others milling past them. More than a few cast them curious looks - their wings marked them out from the cacophony of vibrant hues these avariels had developed over time - but so their the two guards who lingered nearby with menacing looks. Where else could they have come from but Thyasari? What did Thyasari want with them now? Caliane could see those questions in their eyes and it made her uncomfortable.

In the end she turned her attention to the other stalls and shops to distract her. There, not too far away, was a book shop. As her friend finished up she took a small wander down to peruse the volumes that had spilled outside the shop in small wooden stands.

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

No one could say Caliane was not focused. Tadrielus did not follow her to the book shop immediately lest their escorts grow suspicious. He lingered instead at the crafters’ tables, attempting polite conversation but finding little response. Even after trading his apparently-intriguing foreign currency he got maybe a word or two out of them.

The dappled light had been slowly dimming. As Tadrielus finally wound his way to the shelves that Caliane was pursuing a constellation of floating golden orbs swelled with light overhead. The silent lanterns wafted gently, producing no heat with their glow, and gave a gentle, calming atmosphere to the pair’s investigation.

“The script has not changed much,” he remarked, thumbing through a thin volume. He replaced it and tried another. Nothing so far seemed relevant to their search, although one novella seemed like it would be quite enthralling.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

"And they have quite recent tomes," Caliane agreed, flipping the copy of Scarlet Fanny's Collection of Short Stories shut with an amused smile. Even fleeting amusement was marred by the overwhelming concern they were running out of time to figure out what had happened here. The worried avariel gave a sigh and glanced at their guards before the rest of what the branch had to offer. She was growing hungry and there seemed little else along here that might lead them to clues.

In the end she purchased a bookmark to take home and a small dog-eared copy of poetry she knew her mother would like.

"Do you think it will take much longer for the Elders to decide?"

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Do you think it will take much longer for the Elders to decide?

"It may," he said with shared concern. "Ironic that those running out of time take so long to do things." He enjoyed his own black humor in his nearly 700-year-old heart. The sky continued to darken, and he found himself thinking more about the monsters they had faced in the cave. The darkness in there had been so absolute... it made him want to reach for his sword again, or perhaps just conjure a tiny particle of light. Instinct against beings of night, he supposed.

"Before they make their decision, we have one of our own." He replaced the book he had been thumbing through without reading. "Should Thysari open ties before we know what that cave was?"

His thoughts were interrupted by their escort suddenly reappearing at their side. "Curfew. We will show you to your sleeping quarters."

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

It was not comforting Tad had come to the same thoughts as her. She had been harbouring a secret hope she was over thinking it all and the older Avariel would soothe them. If anything, now she felt more troubled.

"Curfew?" Caliane blinked at the guards who met her shock with stony faces which gave nothing away. It was only then she noticed that the shops they had been perusing were closing up - had the book keeper been hovering when she had been taking her time? Had he been nervous? He'd certainly shut up swiftly enough once taking her coin.

Instead of offering explanation the guard grabbed a hold of her arm and turned her about back the way they had come. This time once they hit the main trunk they made their way down some steps. Several doorways had been carved into the trunk and it was in front of one of them the guards stopped and opened. Inside was a humble room in need of dusting but a fair way away from what one would have called a cell, which Caliane supposed was a blessing of a kind.

"The Elders will send for you tomorrow when they reach a decision," the Avariel explained gruffly then promptly shut the door in their face.

"Well!" Caliane huffed.

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Tadrielus flipped his face back to one of pleasant acceptance. “Of course,” he said, folding his alabaster wings close to his back. “We are happy to abide by the laws of this city so long as we are guests.” The last phrase was a pointed ever so gently at Caliane. They were not in a position to be questioning their orders just now.

Tadrielus allowed himself to continue marveling at the intricate woodwork that surrounded them. Even the heavy door to their mandatory accommodations was beautiful, and it closed with a very pleasing thud of wood-on-wood.

Tadrielus bore a self-satisfied smile at Caliane’s indignation. “A decision as early as tomorrow, aren’t we lucky.” He strode across the small space to one of the low beds and took a seat. “I suppose we must occupy ourselves until then. Good thing we have some entertainment.”

He smiled and pulled a single leatherbound book from his back, where his wing had been holding it securely since he pilfered it from the book stand. “Would you like a look?” He extended the volume to Caliane. It’s cover was worn but still showed a faded tree with the title: How the City was Grown. Not an academic read, perhaps, but as good a history as any ordinary citizen could want.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

"Where did you find that?!" Caliane exclaimed in delight and took the well thumbed volume delicately in her hands. She hadn't seen anything on the table when she'd been scouring it, but then given where Tad had been hiding it she thought that perhaps it had been quickly taken away from her searching eyes. Stealing! Caliane couldn't believe it of her friend. He seemed too grandfatherly to do something so... illegal.

Caliane sat down on one of the small cots and creaked open the book. It made sense to start at the beginning but she read the contents page to be sure. She wasn't sure what she had hoped for - perhaps evil tainted avariel - or curse - but nothing jumped out at her that suggested it would tell them about the creatures they had found on their way here.

"How long do you think it will take them to make a decision?" she asked as she turned to the first page.

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

"I would not expect to be awoken at dawn, if that is what you mean," he leaned back against the smooth-carved wall. "This is probably the biggest decision they've had to make in centuries." And then, he gave a small chuckle.

"It really is quite brash of us to come sailing in and offer such momentous news. Though the military escort did make it difficult to ease into things." He turned his new bracelet in the room's dim light. "Anything interesting?"

The word "curfew" kept turning about in his head. The Ixchel wilds were a dangerous place, to be sure, but the city had no sign of trouble during the day. The massive Khairi bird was only one of many daytime hunters. What threat did the night hold that was more fearsome than that?

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane was thankfully too distracted by the pilfered book to dwell on the same concerns as Tadrielus. If she had, perhaps she would have been casting her senses out. Perhaps she would have been able to warn them.

As it was though for the moment the redhaired Avariel curled up on her cot, wings splayed to rest them, and looked to the world as though she was quite content with her life in that moment with book in hand. Her eyes scanned each page quickly but it was clear no word was missed.

"I suppose I thought they would be more grateful but... this history, Tad, they hate us," she looked horrified and turned round the book to show an illustration of the soldiers of Thyasari throwing spears at Avariels who tried to come home. "This isn't real is it? We didn't do that to them?"

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Tadrielus' brow creased at the illustration. "That was before even my time." Green eyes, paled only slightly by age, scanned over the image time and time again. It did not leave much room for interpretation. A thousand years was a long time, plenty of time to misremember and rewrite history... but Tadrielus believed the book. He took a heavy sigh. "The Thysari I know, until now, has always been fearful of the outside. I have seen fear turn brother against sister... it would not surprise me to see it turn us against our cousins." It was a dark thought, and one he had no pleasure in entertaining.

"Whether or not we did, the avariel here believe we did. If that is the story they tell, then it is the story we will follow." It would have been helpful to know ahead of time, however. They could have come in more humbly, or offered some sort of reparations. Thysari had well and truly buried this bit of its history.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane sighed and turned the book back towards her. She couldn't move on from the image and the implications there. It made no sense that the Avariels of Thyasari would turn people away - their own people. There had been children here. No matter what fears had gripped the Elders, surely they would not have turned away children? She made herself turn the page to the next chapter which outlined how they turned the small outpost here into a thriving city and the notable families who rose up to guide the city in their new life.

"No wonder they hate us," she murmured and wriggled until she was lying down on the bed. "Listen to this..."

Caliane read out a few more passages but none of them referred to the beasts in the cave. The only thing that came close was mention of the Great Plague, which claimed many of their numbers.

Beyond the safety of the tree, beasts prowled in the night drawing closer and closer, scenting something new.

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Tadrielus was not surprised that the book did not mention the dark creatures in the cave, but he had hoped, foolishly, that it might. All in all it was a full history, but not a very exciting one by the time his eyes shut and he fell off to sleep. The room itself was calming, with gentle orange light against smoothly carved walls. The city-tree was so massive that, if it waved in the wind, he did not feel it.

For the first time since their departure, he had removed his armor to sleep. It sent the wrong message, he reasoned, if he wanted to be seen as peaceful. Naturally, as is the way of cosmic comedy, this night he would need it.

The drumming woke him first, with heavy reverberating heartbeats through the wood. Then the bells clanged through the nightly din of insects and rustling leaves. He sat up and vaulted out of bed with a speed belying his great age and made for the door.

It was locked. Of course their distrustful hosts had locked them in. Tadrielus sighed, hearing muffled shouts of what he assumed to be soldiers. Ixchel was dangerous. Perhaps this disturbance was not unusual here. He listened for roars or howls of beasts.

He heard… something. A shriek. A piercing scream. Not of a beast, but of a person. There were more shouts now, and more cries of anguish.

Tadrielus rushed back to his armor. This was not a normal night for the tree.

He hadn’t had time to check on Caliane, but surely she had risen just as he had.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Tad drifted off halfway through the chapter written on how the Avariel had learnt to sing to the tree itself to provide homes and rooms for them to hide in. Their race had always had a talent with song - in the old days when they had wandered the earth instead of hiding they had been described as some of the most beautiful singers in existence. That the song could be used for a type of magic intrigued her and she read on. At some point in the dark night hours she must have fallen asleep with the book over her face.

It was the shriek that woke her.

Jolting upwards sent the book tumbling to the floor but she paid it no heed as she blearily looked around the room for any sort of danger. The shriek had seemed to echo through the wood making it seem far closer than it probably was. Next she saw Tad running for his armour and she rose to try the door.

"I don't want to hurt you," she said to the tree in a whisper but it did not relent to let them out. Instead Caliane let fire burst to life in her fingertips. "Stand back," she warned before blasting the lock apart. The door swung ominously open. Outside a group of soldiers rushed past but paid their open door no mind.

"Should we follow?"

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

The avariel had made their armor easy to don despite large wings, a smithing and tailoring marvel that Tadrielus had never appreciated as much as now. He felt the soulfire flare to life behind him, its heat tinged with malice, and heard the noise of the outside grow clearer.

"Better than staying here," he answered Caliane. Like most flighted beings, he felt uneasy being stuck in a small space. When danger was afoot, and his adrenaline was up, that instinct was even harder to suppress. The open air beyond their meager door was dark, obscured by the light within. Tadrielus squinted, trying to focus beyond. He thought there had been more lights on the main branches.

He approached Caliane and the door, one hand on the hilt of his sword. He held out his other hand, and in his palm a small orb of white light silently swelled into being. With a gentle push, it floated softly from the door, up the small, open staircase, and out onto the branch. It illuminated the swirling wood as it passed, twisting and contorting the shadows as it moved. Just before the magical lantern winked out of existence, it brought to light what the distant torches could not - a wash of blood on the smooth bark, and a pale, severed hand.

"Be careful," he said gravely, then with a lighter tone, "for the tree's sake." He had a natural worry for the young woman's safety, but it was an old man's irrational thoughts. The logical warrior in him knew that the soulfire would keep her quite safe... but it likely did not care too much about the people of this city.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane's lips thinned but she nodded with grim determination; she would try. When it came to the Soulfire that was all she could hope to do. If there was a threat... then the other being who shared her body would not listen to arguments for the sake of a tree. If only she still had her bow and arrows at least then she would have something else to defend herself with.

She let Tad take the lead for he was the more experienced soldier between them. Instead she kept watch on their backs and made sure no soldiers rushed up behind them. It seemed, however, that most of the trees defenders had already rushed to deal with whatever it was attacking their home. Up in the branches the screaming was clearer. Ordinary people rushed to take flight to flee from whatever had terrified them.

"What is going on--?"

A sudden snarl made her head whip round and a shadowy beast that looked like it had once been a tiger jumped onto the branch, teeth oozing with black poison.

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

This could not be a normal night-time incursion. The soldiers who had escorted them had been capable and well armed. Their bodies and minds had been honed by these harsh wilds, and while their wings danced in a thousand colors, they had retained the stoic resolution of their powder-winged ancestors. The old avariel's eyes lingered on a splintered gash in the wood before them.

He turned at the sound and drew his sword. A flare of white light set the scene into harsh contrast for just a second before it faded into a cool glow along the blade. The tiger snarled again, startled by the light and then angered by its presence.

If it could be angered more...

The beast did not feel natural. Tadrielus could not claim to be familiar with even a fraction of the creatures of the Wilds, but he was well-acquainted with evil. This tiger stank of it.

"Not even a scratch," he warned the younger angel at his side. "I don't think our healing magic will be-"

He was cut off by two more soft thuds behind them, and he swung his sword's light around to reveal two more predators: a slinky, lithe panther and something that was decided more canine. They were wreathed in shadow like the tiger, with the same black ichor dripping from their maws.

The deep creases in Tadrielus' face set themselves.